I slipped out early to catch the matinee of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As the lights fell I wondered, as I do with every movie based on a book, which will be better: book or movie? Sometimes both can differ in many ways, but still be good. For example, The Hunt For Red October or Jurassic Park.
It had been many years since I read The Hitchhiker's Guide and its two sequels (later two more sequels were published). Douglas Adams himself wrote most of the screenplay before his death, so any purists upset about changes can't complain too much. Only a few things were added to the movie, according to Wired magazine: John Malkovich's character Humma Kavula, and the Point-of-View Gun, which causes the target to see things from the shooter's perspective.
The story follows Arthur Dent, rescued from earth just before it is destroyed, and his further travels in space. Along the way there are some hilarious plot twists and several asides (the answer to the ultimate question: the meaning of life, the universe, and everything; mice as higher-dimensional superbeings; earth as a large computer simulation designed to figure out the ultimate question; and so forth). In the movie were a few scenes that drew laughs, and while the books are very funny with a dry British humor, I think it is difficult to translate that. Do you think Monty Python movies are funny? A Fish Called Wanda? If so, you will do well with this one.
Overall I did like the movie, but think the books are much better. I'm not sure this movie will do very well, outside of the core fans who are familiar with the books. But hey, it is opening against XXX: State of the Union.
I didn't realize that Hitchhiker's Guide was originally a BBC radio show, which was then turned into a novel. I should cast aside my earlier search for audio books and try to get my hands on the radio show instead!
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Carpet Cleaners
The carpet cleaner came today, a little late because of an unexpectedly difficult earlier appointment - but that's OK since I work just 5 minutes away. The company is a family run business, of a skydiving friend of Krisanne's, and he did a great job!
My den looks a lot different, partly from the uncluttering I've done, and partly because the carpet is so clean looking. The previous owner didn't clean the carpets before she moved out, and I didn't before I moved in, and I see now that it makes a difference. I have a carpet shampoo machine, but I don't get the same results when I try - maybe there are heavier duty machines or better soaps - who knows. Something to keep in mind before I move into another house.
Anyway, now I'm one of those people who leaves their shoes in the garage, or at the front door. I'm paranoid of tracking anything in and pick the miscellaneous pine needle that hitches a ride on me and then falls off.
I'm not sure what I'll do if it rains this weekend and I need to bike on my trainer. I'll probably by some cheap area rug or drop cloth to spread out, if it comes to that.
My den looks a lot different, partly from the uncluttering I've done, and partly because the carpet is so clean looking. The previous owner didn't clean the carpets before she moved out, and I didn't before I moved in, and I see now that it makes a difference. I have a carpet shampoo machine, but I don't get the same results when I try - maybe there are heavier duty machines or better soaps - who knows. Something to keep in mind before I move into another house.
Anyway, now I'm one of those people who leaves their shoes in the garage, or at the front door. I'm paranoid of tracking anything in and pick the miscellaneous pine needle that hitches a ride on me and then falls off.
I'm not sure what I'll do if it rains this weekend and I need to bike on my trainer. I'll probably by some cheap area rug or drop cloth to spread out, if it comes to that.
Painting 2
Ah, the joys of getting a home ready for the market.
I painted my study (the third bedroom of my house) which presented a challenge - I have three bookshelves, a desk, a table, and two chests, with all sorts of items on them. In the ideal situation, I would have moved everything out, painted, and moved it all back in... but that would have easily taken an entire day just to move my things around. So what I did is paint as carefully as I could, around the various furniture - in other words, my paint job doesn't go all the way down to the floor. Oh well, that is as good as I can do. I still have a small section to do above my desk, which I'll get to after I clear off the desk.
I also attempted the hallway, which was a challenge because of two half flights of stairs - I have one wall that is 15 or 20 feet high, from the bottom floor. I tried various ladder configurations (but my ladder either extends fully or opens in an A-frame) and also bought a long handled roller, but it is still difficult for me to reach the top third of three walls. The problem is stability - I'm stretched out trying to reach, while balancing on the ladder - and can't press with the roller to paint. I don't mind painting when I'm on a flat surface, but bracing a ladder on the stairs to reach waaaay up and over to paint a high corner... that made me uneasy.
After spending a lot of time painting, I'm satisfied with what I've done and how it turned out. To finish off the rest, I'm going to call up a painter my realtor recommended. I think a professional painter will have a telescopic ladder and other gizmos to paint the wall section I can't reach, including the corners.
I painted my study (the third bedroom of my house) which presented a challenge - I have three bookshelves, a desk, a table, and two chests, with all sorts of items on them. In the ideal situation, I would have moved everything out, painted, and moved it all back in... but that would have easily taken an entire day just to move my things around. So what I did is paint as carefully as I could, around the various furniture - in other words, my paint job doesn't go all the way down to the floor. Oh well, that is as good as I can do. I still have a small section to do above my desk, which I'll get to after I clear off the desk.
I also attempted the hallway, which was a challenge because of two half flights of stairs - I have one wall that is 15 or 20 feet high, from the bottom floor. I tried various ladder configurations (but my ladder either extends fully or opens in an A-frame) and also bought a long handled roller, but it is still difficult for me to reach the top third of three walls. The problem is stability - I'm stretched out trying to reach, while balancing on the ladder - and can't press with the roller to paint. I don't mind painting when I'm on a flat surface, but bracing a ladder on the stairs to reach waaaay up and over to paint a high corner... that made me uneasy.
After spending a lot of time painting, I'm satisfied with what I've done and how it turned out. To finish off the rest, I'm going to call up a painter my realtor recommended. I think a professional painter will have a telescopic ladder and other gizmos to paint the wall section I can't reach, including the corners.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Audio Books
While I was in the checkout line at the bookstore, I noticed a display of audio books. The ones on display were The Notebook and The Broker, and I decided to browse through the rest of the selections. I've had friends tell me audio books are great, for air travel, road trips, or just listening to at home while doing other things. Krisanne recommends them for road trips because they really make the miles fly by, since you concentrate on the book a bit more than you would for music. My friend Tom really enjoys the adventures of Ruby, a galactic detective, and would listen to it during his commute.
The selection was quite broad: fantasy to classics to non-fiction. As I mused about painting and doing other errands while listening to a novel, I picked one up to check the price... and was shocked - these audio books ranged from $30 to $80! Geez, I was expecting just a few dollars more but for that much, I'm not sure it is worth it.
Still, I've heard good things about them and decided to keep browsing. I saw Life of Pi, which I am currently working through, Guns, Germs, and Steel, which I already own, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the classic War of the Worlds... as I looked I formed a checklist of what a perfect audio book would be. I decided this: it either needs to be one I would like to read by for whatever reason probably won't, or it needs to be one I'd like to "read" repeatedly, in order to justify the expense over the printed book version.
After checking out the entire selection, I found two candidates: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and Ulysses by James Joyce. I've heard both books are great, but somewhat painful to slog through. Thus, they fit the "I would like to read but probably won't" criterion perfectly.
In the end, I decided to not get one and instead try the half price book store to see if they had any. Or, try the library, as I understand they have some available for borrowing. Since the first Ruby episode is pretty cheap, I decided to order it.
The selection was quite broad: fantasy to classics to non-fiction. As I mused about painting and doing other errands while listening to a novel, I picked one up to check the price... and was shocked - these audio books ranged from $30 to $80! Geez, I was expecting just a few dollars more but for that much, I'm not sure it is worth it.
Still, I've heard good things about them and decided to keep browsing. I saw Life of Pi, which I am currently working through, Guns, Germs, and Steel, which I already own, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the classic War of the Worlds... as I looked I formed a checklist of what a perfect audio book would be. I decided this: it either needs to be one I would like to read by for whatever reason probably won't, or it needs to be one I'd like to "read" repeatedly, in order to justify the expense over the printed book version.
After checking out the entire selection, I found two candidates: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and Ulysses by James Joyce. I've heard both books are great, but somewhat painful to slog through. Thus, they fit the "I would like to read but probably won't" criterion perfectly.
In the end, I decided to not get one and instead try the half price book store to see if they had any. Or, try the library, as I understand they have some available for borrowing. Since the first Ruby episode is pretty cheap, I decided to order it.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Seattle Day
I met my friend Krisanne at Safeco Field - a going away present to me was to attend this game! The Mariners won 9-1 and the game involved some unusual plays: one balk, and later, the Cleveland Indian's pitcher struggled and walked 5 batters in a row - filling the bases and then walking in two run for us!
Krisanne and I got into a discussion of unusual plays in baseball, and how rare it would be to see a perfect game, or a player hit the cycle. She mentioned the unassisted triple play might be the rarest of them all. In the baseball almanac I found there have been a total of 12 unassisted triple plays, while there have been 17 perfect games. I guess I won't hold my breath hoping to see both in the same game. ;) Instead, I might make a checklist of unusual plays, and carry it to future games.
Baseball Bat sculpture inside Safeco Field
I had a little time before volleyball, so I went over to Magnuson Park to wander around. It was a sunny windy day, so several people were out on Kite Hill... flying kites (imagine that!), and practicing canopy skills for skydiving?
Flying a giant kite.
This woman was filling her canopy with air, and then tugging on the strings before letting it fall back to the ground. I'm not really sure what she was doing, but it looked pretty cool.
Sharks!
Along one path are several "fins" from submarines. The name of this sculpture is "The Fin Project: From Swords to Plowshares".
The entire reason I decided to zip by Magnuson was to see the Sound Garden (the page also mentions the Fin Project) - a sculpture of pipes and vanes that hum as the wind blows through them. Yes, the rock band took their name from this musical sculpture. Unfortunately, I could only get close enough to see it from the other side of a fence - due to security concerns, there is no access on the weekend. This may seem really strange, but Sound Garden is technically located on NOAA property. I plan to return when I can walk through it and take pictures.
Krisanne and I got into a discussion of unusual plays in baseball, and how rare it would be to see a perfect game, or a player hit the cycle. She mentioned the unassisted triple play might be the rarest of them all. In the baseball almanac I found there have been a total of 12 unassisted triple plays, while there have been 17 perfect games. I guess I won't hold my breath hoping to see both in the same game. ;) Instead, I might make a checklist of unusual plays, and carry it to future games.
Baseball Bat sculpture inside Safeco Field
I had a little time before volleyball, so I went over to Magnuson Park to wander around. It was a sunny windy day, so several people were out on Kite Hill... flying kites (imagine that!), and practicing canopy skills for skydiving?
Flying a giant kite.
This woman was filling her canopy with air, and then tugging on the strings before letting it fall back to the ground. I'm not really sure what she was doing, but it looked pretty cool.
Sharks!
Along one path are several "fins" from submarines. The name of this sculpture is "The Fin Project: From Swords to Plowshares".
The entire reason I decided to zip by Magnuson was to see the Sound Garden (the page also mentions the Fin Project) - a sculpture of pipes and vanes that hum as the wind blows through them. Yes, the rock band took their name from this musical sculpture. Unfortunately, I could only get close enough to see it from the other side of a fence - due to security concerns, there is no access on the weekend. This may seem really strange, but Sound Garden is technically located on NOAA property. I plan to return when I can walk through it and take pictures.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Painting 1
I spent a few hours this afternoon painting the living room and dining room. The rooms look fine, but could use another coat of paint. I was actually looking forward to doing this myself - partly from the satisfaction of taking care of this type of work around the house, and partly from saving money.
Prepping took about an hour. First I removed everything from the walls and stored smaller items. Then I carefully placed painters tape around the various faceplates in the wall. Finally I poured the paint and started away, using the roller for the walls and a smaller brush for corners and the ceiling edge. My biggest tip is: wear latex gloves so your hands don't get drowned in paint. I did and it was really nice to peel them off and throw them out afterwards.
Total time: 3 hours. And, this might sound strange, but it was almost... fun!
I still have about half or a third of the gallon left, which should be enough to do the part of my study that I want to do. I also need to paint the hallway, which will be trickier due to odd angles and stairs. I decided to hire a company to clean the carpets and wash the windows, since those are very time consuming, yet cheap to have someone else do.
Prepping took about an hour. First I removed everything from the walls and stored smaller items. Then I carefully placed painters tape around the various faceplates in the wall. Finally I poured the paint and started away, using the roller for the walls and a smaller brush for corners and the ceiling edge. My biggest tip is: wear latex gloves so your hands don't get drowned in paint. I did and it was really nice to peel them off and throw them out afterwards.
Total time: 3 hours. And, this might sound strange, but it was almost... fun!
I still have about half or a third of the gallon left, which should be enough to do the part of my study that I want to do. I also need to paint the hallway, which will be trickier due to odd angles and stairs. I decided to hire a company to clean the carpets and wash the windows, since those are very time consuming, yet cheap to have someone else do.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Eight Years
Today is a bit sentimental to me, because eight years ago today, I moved to the Seattle area, to start a new job on the following day. My family moved around quite a bit when I was younger, and I never really got attached to any specific place. I usually just saw each move as another adventure to embark upon.
As an adult, I moved to Houston to attend college, and wound up living there for over 10 years. However, a few months after moving away, I didn't miss Houston very much at all, just a handful of friends that remain. As I prepare to move away, I realize that I am attached to my current home area, for the first time ever in my life.
The Pacific Northwest offers quite a bit: lakes, mountains, rivers, and plenty of activities that go along with a great outdoor environment. Yes, it rains often, but most of the time it is a light drizzle, which is nothing like the heavy thunderstorms that used to drench the Houston area. Here, you can still persevere and go out; there, you might die in a flash flood or tornado. The climate is mild and overall, I like the weather. Beautiful summer days here are better than anywhere else I've lived.
Since moving to this area, I have taken up running, snowboarding, volleyball, swimming, biking, and triathlon. So I've gotten healthier, made several great friends... but sadly no relationships whatsoever. That's the only thing about my time here that I am sad about. However, I am optimistic that Florida will be different in that respect.
Part of me is excited about the move, it is just drowned out by the reality of errands getting a home ready to put on the market. And of course, actually moving away.
As an adult, I moved to Houston to attend college, and wound up living there for over 10 years. However, a few months after moving away, I didn't miss Houston very much at all, just a handful of friends that remain. As I prepare to move away, I realize that I am attached to my current home area, for the first time ever in my life.
The Pacific Northwest offers quite a bit: lakes, mountains, rivers, and plenty of activities that go along with a great outdoor environment. Yes, it rains often, but most of the time it is a light drizzle, which is nothing like the heavy thunderstorms that used to drench the Houston area. Here, you can still persevere and go out; there, you might die in a flash flood or tornado. The climate is mild and overall, I like the weather. Beautiful summer days here are better than anywhere else I've lived.
Since moving to this area, I have taken up running, snowboarding, volleyball, swimming, biking, and triathlon. So I've gotten healthier, made several great friends... but sadly no relationships whatsoever. That's the only thing about my time here that I am sad about. However, I am optimistic that Florida will be different in that respect.
Part of me is excited about the move, it is just drowned out by the reality of errands getting a home ready to put on the market. And of course, actually moving away.
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